Mhaieiyu

Arc 2, Chapter 27

The Galloping

He had only run a few yards before the soles of his shoes were made to drag against the floor to put him at a grinding halt. It’s as if he had forgotten why he was running, as well remembered something of immense importance that awaited in the direction opposite where he was going. It wasn’t a thought that made sense, not even to him, he just knew he had to oblige it, even as Chloe, Mumble and the kids kept running away in front of him. If they made it, it would be enough, so strangely, he wasn’t dissatisfied.

Tokken turned toward the window and looked outside. The sky was turning black, and Victus’ solar rays were being muffled. From within, reflected by the light inside the building, he noticed a multitude of gleams hiding in the darkening shadows of the forest. At first, he thought they were eyes, but they shone too much to be so. His breath sharpened in a panic as realisation struck. Then, he felt his mind numb with a throbbing headache as his thoughts were reduced to muscle memory; turning his head further to the right, he spotted the man he had previously run away from as he limped away toward the trees. A small piece of him celebrated this. If Sagittar was left in such a state, perhaps hope was restored. But a larger part of his being shunned this sight.

The one who had given him purpose was being slain before his eyes.

His sight doubled.

He ran, pushing three guards out the way—almost breaking his fingers on the hard surfaces of their armour—and he bolted, his legs stumbling underneath him, out into the pouring rain.

“My lord, my lord, my lord. I’m beckoned. I’m without reign. Guide me.”

This string of nonsense echoed in his rational mind and turned him into something else. He was still Tokken, but he wasn’t ‘awake’.

“My lord, my lord, my lord. Give Conquest reprive. Bless him. Let him guide me through you.”

More ludicrousness came from nowhere. The folded knife on his belt called with a glow as he came closer to the Crimson Harbinger. He wasn’t too far now. The Tsuki took the Jewel and cut himself springing the blade to action. Even as blood dripped, he didn’t hesitate.

“I am your lamb.”

A heavy force struck him from behind like the flung rock of a catapult. His skinny legs failed to recover, and the weight was too much. He fell facefirst into the mud and stained his quartz hair. His head struck the earth with a thud, and so his unhinged absent-mindedness became all too mindful. The throat-straining scream that followed was almost reflexively sudden as the first thought bubbled clear in his brain.

“GUARDIAN, FROM THE TREES! HURRY!”

His brain couldn’t quite put together a coherent sentence yet, but it’s not as if there was enough time to. He just spat what first came to mouth, and thankfully, it was enough for even Emris’ often inattentive self. Tokken hadn’t even realised who was on top of him until the deafening boom of his voice overwrote the lad’s own. A strange noise followed soon after, and as Tokken covered his head with just his two hands, the barrage came forth.

Tiny yet loud, like the flight of a small insect or a fairy; yet continuous, like a volley of gunfire. Wave after wave, for several seconds, the area rained death sideways. All who heard the daggers fly were terrified. The violent thud and clatter of metals breaking into pieces on impact made it all the worse, especially as armour broke and reduced to scrap, leaving something you wouldn’t even wish to bury underneath.

The army that had gathered was effectively grated. About a third were made casualties. Those who didn’t die took care of themselves or were forced to wait with broken bodies until their last drop. The screams wouldn’t die down for a second after that was over as a second tidal wave came to damn them all. Large clots of a viscous, dark fluid traversed the earth and spouted upwards to mould into a mess of animals; most of similar shape except for minor alterations, their most noticeable difference being their castes, with some being about as tall as a wolf with rudimentary anatomy and others like a caravan bearing heavy muscles, hard heads and great big claws with varying degrees of incisiveness — from dull as stone to sharp as swords.

The heft that lay atop him lightened enough for the teen to breathe normally again, leaving him to cough and wipe the dirt off his face, but suddenly, his body was plucked and ripped off the damp earth. His sight swung round and with a muffled groan, he was dropped belly-first onto a pinnacle.

The Guardian took the lad over his shoulder and ran, fast as he could, back to the Facility’s end. In the noise, he shouted something at someone, and Tokken barely made out the name ‘Holly’ again. Seeing the beasts come near made him stop thinking about the fact his target was defenceless beneath. It wouldn’t be hard to reach for his knife and do it, especially once it sparked right back onto his belt after leaving it in the mud.

“Holly, drive!” Emris shouted, so overwhelmed that his voice cracked.

“I—I can’t!” Holly stammered a yell in turn, still in awe that at least seven shards that would’ve struck her were stopped in time by Emris’ spells. “I don’t know how to drive this thing!”

Tokken watched as Bruttus became overrun with all kinds of creatures he couldn’t keep up with; his trusty axe was his only hope to press through and hack away at the Lambs, and so he swung it indiscriminately. Emris couldn’t bring himself to mouth anything to him, as he knew he couldn’t afford to go through that kind of risk so soon, but worry would only have to build for so long as Norman charged and smashed through several of the monsters to give aid to his Mynotaur brethren.

“Norman!” Tokken exclaimed as he watched the smaller yet still large bull jump high and drop his axe low upon the freaks of nature, pressing his back to Bruttus’ as they took on the storm on their own.

“Shite, shite, shite! I’ll be teachin’ ye soon as this mess’s through. Head indoors, now! Take the kid!” Emris said, swivelling the dumbstruck teen off him to land forcefully in the Lypin’s arms with an ‘mph!’.

Immediately, Emris turned around to smack an incoming Crawler of lower caste right off its screeching leap’s course, sideswiping it.

Holly grunted, helping the teen to his feet. “Em, what about you?!”

“I’ll live, shite, I’ll live! Just get in there!” he said, striking another Crawler before grabbing a charging Bulkhead snout, dragging his feet to grind it to a halt. “Go, Holly!”

The rabbit was made to stand by her fretting, but a hand on her wrist brought her to her senses. She looked up with a confused noise, seeing that the near-adult boy with hair that didn’t suit his age had his wits about him again.

With a tug against her that helped her run, Tokken said, “With me!”

Holly nodded but whipped her arm back from his grip. When Tokken looked back in confusion, he saw that Holly had driven her foot into the soft skull of a passing Crawler, scrubbing her nastied leg on the grass briefly before regaining her sprint.

Tokken never felt so emasculated in his life. He didn’t even consider himself much of a man, but this? Even his species felt offended.

“This is just cruel…”

“You’re thinking about it way too much,” Holly said, smashing her heel into the nape of another wildened beast. “These things are barely alive.”

She was faster on her feet, agile and quick-witted, and even while running for her life she’d stop and smell the roses to wait for the teen’s pathetic, panting and arm-flailing run to catch up. ‘Smell the roses’, in this case, meant blood, which she took no qualms in beating out of the cat-like Crawlers.

The pair were running through the halls back to where Tokken last saw Chloe and Mumble, expecting to find them and the children by following the same path to the refuge underground. Holly was too busy fending off a beast that had smashed through a window for her to notice that, well ahead, a new, slimmer, more specialised monster had snuck into the building. Tokken grabbed her by the shoulder and ear and managed to drop her on the floor before the laughing, grinning creature barged past them with the unsteadiness of a frightened horse and the risen hips of a baboon. The way it chuckled and giggled was strikingly similar to a hyena, but in the absence of even a snout, that’s truly how such a beast echolocated and traversed its surroundings.

The famous Lypin held her breath as the horrifying Crimson beast lost itself behind them, and she thanked the skies it was too overcome with the countless noises outside. Soon enough, Tokken gave Holly clearance to stand and run again, with the rabbit tugging at the human’s arm to get him to run faster.

“I appreciate what you did back there, hun,” Holly said, panting as well, pointing at her ears, “but these aren’t handles, yeah?”

“Sorry, sorry. Didn’t have time to think,” Tokken apologised, barely able to talk as they ran.

Holly gave him a reassuring smile. “Name’s Holly. Holly Bonnabelle, but you can save the last name.”

“Tokken. I'd rather not say mine,” he responded. Looking ahead, he noticed the small group of relatively small children had huddled together near a wall while Mumble and, to his surprise, Chloe fought off three of the monsters. Seeing this made the teen hurry, bringing himself to sprint faster than the Lypin for a bit.

When he arrived on the scene, Tokken watched as the first of three Crawlers, which growled, snarled and threatened to pounce, was extinguished with a long swipe of a knife not held by the hand. At first, the Tsuki would’ve chalked it up to the powers of an esper, but he soon realised it was instead attached by the base to the length of wire Mumble had once used against him. The boy had connected both daggers by this cord, and by yoyoing them so skilfully, he could hack at and disarm enemies at a distance.

He couldn’t waste time wowing at this. Holly jumped on top of the second beast with a foolish cry. The crack that followed was by virtue of its neck breaking. Fiendish as they were, Tokken quickly realised how fragile these Crawlers could be.

The third beast came alarmingly close to a child as Mumble failed to drop it, having only slashed its side, and so, Chloe leapt to action with an impressive growl that only stirred the monster’s anger. Suddenly, her body shook, and with a mighty howl, her every muscle seemed to bulge and grow exponentially until she reached a proper, fearsome adult Howler’s size. As to the mindless nature of the Crimson Lamb, it only retreated for a moment before lunging forward again, swiping at the Howler’s cheek only to get its torso gnawed on immediately after.

The kids, who until then fretted and whimpered, cheered in unison at the trio’s success. Tokken could only stand there and sigh, happy that all were safe even as ‘it’ hit the fan. When he took a moment to look outside, he noticed how the Mynotaur duo struggled together to fend off the Crawlers on their end, trying their damnedest to stop those that still rose from the southern point to break through and enter the Facility. In the middle, the small army of Syndies had formed a square formation to gun down and chop up any that might come close to the entrance. The group had taken a heavy blow from the shard bombardment; Emris could only protect so many with the magic he wielded, and he felt winded after the fact. The spells of the Guardian were incomparable; none other could ever hope to channel and bend mana into protective bubbles and walls that could linger midair. This didn’t come for free, however.

Emris’ nose dribbled blood already as the tenseness in his skull reached a peak. He felt his knees fail briefly, though he did manage to stay afoot. Facing the music, Emris watched as the hordes continued to birth from behind the tree-line, up until the third wave, when, with a count that might scratch the thousands, the last Crawler sprinted forth from the ground and collided against Norman’s shield. He was content to see the two bulls were surviving, at least. There would be no time to assist them now.

Emris made himself run toward the mass of soldiers, and on the way, he was forced to tear down half a dozen speedy runners that beelined toward the Facility’s windows. One of the critters managed to dodge his hand and climb his arm, tearing his already knackered jacket’s sleeve to flimsy ropes of fabric and leather, and the flesh beneath, of course, suffered several gashes. The Guardian jerked his arm in such a way that his pockets were saved, but it didn’t help his wounds, and much to the poisoned clutches of these beasts, he grit his teeth at the boiling pain that followed. With his left hand, he grabbed a firm hold of the thing’s thankfully unhardened skull and pressed firmly, resisting its painful screeches until the sound of a crack signalled its demise. The jaw of the monster hung limp, and finally, his talons unhooked; Emris grabbed his bleeding arm and just kept running.

Finally, he reached the southernmost end of the troops.

“Oi! Oi, Lieutenant!” he called, slapping his hand down on a smaller infantry’s shoulder, almost having his misfire. “Where’s the Sixth? Corvus?”

The soldier took the time between reloading to answer. “Inside, Brigadier, sir!”

“The hell’s he doin’ inside?!”

“That’s where the incursion started, sir!”

“Aye, well now it’s outside, ain’t it?” Emris growled, ramming back against a charging Bulkhead with a shield before dispatching it with a swipe at its exposed neck using his repossessed noble’s dagger. The beast whined like a dog before dropping dead, joining the rest of the fallen in a slow melt to become one with the earth once more.

The Lieutenant had nothing to say, and Emris huffed in turn. Turning towards them in a brief window of inaction, he said, “We’ll swap places. Get in there and make sure my— make sure Holly—the Lypin VIP—gets to safety.”

“The singer…? Aren’t I better off here?” the suited one with the visor down insisted, mowing down three more that cantered near.

“The Galloping has ye shaking by the boots here where they’re movin’ most. They’ve breached…” He was interrupted by another who tried to snap at his neck, only to get sucker-punched away. “...the inside. Help secure it, damn it!”

“Will you survive here, sir?”

“Is now the time to fuckin’ argue?!”

“Fair point.”

The Guardian stepped forward and provided cover as the Lieutenant, followed by six of his subordinates, entered the building. It was shortly after that he heard the screams of men followed by the giggling of an animal.

♦ ♥ ♣ ♠

“To your left, Shark Teeth!” Tokken hollered, and so the roped blades swung over Mumble’s head and against the monster, gliding through its flesh like butter.

“Pigeon Shit, behind!” Mumble shouted back, and so Tokken managed to avoid the clamp of the jaws that nearly snuck up to him. With the back end of his knife, the Tsuki struck his weapon against its head hard enough to make it stagger, allowing Holly to end it with a fierce kick.

“Pigeon Shit! Pigeon Shit!” the fearless girl on Chloe’s back chanted in a peal of laughter. “Pigeon Shit! That’s your name!”

Chloe looked over her shoulder in disapproval. “Look at what you’re teaching them, Mumble!”

“It’s… Pride, ya mutt!” Mumble retorted between breaths as the lot sprinted through the halls.

“I refuse to call you that!”

“Watch your head!” the Lypin warned, speeding up her footwork to reach Mumble’s side and ear-thwack a smaller Cryptid away. Once he was safe, she drove her palm to the back of his head. “Try for a less rude nickname!”

“Agh, am I gettin’ lectured by a fuckin’ bunny? Where’s me life gone to!?”

“Fucky fucky fuck!” the girl continued to sing her cusses indiscriminately, lifting the strangely level-headed children’s spirits.

And yet another thwack hit Mumble as Chloe bumped her head into his waist. “Stop the sailor’s talk!”

“Doggy, can I get a turn after?” the Gygant boy asked as he panted.

“Dear cub, I’m frazzled enough to have to try to understand how this is more important than your safety!”

Holly tried not to laugh as not to waste her oxygen. “Are ya kidding, hun? Anyone’d like the chance.”

“Mumble, two up ahead!”

The boy grunted. With how small he was, he looked almost as young as the children. “Pride, for Vicks! And yeah, I see ‘em. Suckers look like Sluggerhorns, goddamn…”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Best we detour!”

“Right, everyone, bend the corner to the left!” Tokken exclaimed.

Thus, the group marched on, ignoring their tiredness as the run couldn’t afford to cease. They had assumed such a stance that the children remained in the core, protected by Chloe, while Mumble assumed the right-hand side, keeping from any window-shoppers, and Holly and Tokken took the rear, with Tokken being the least fit and Holly the most to run; which allowed her to help keep him moving. While he was entirely unfit to fight properly, the quartz-hair became the eyes of the team, as well as moral support to the kids.

The lot acted as a ship almost.

The whole troupe managed to synchronise fairly well. It was a good thing Zwaarst children were no slackers, too. They all skidded against the floor at once and shifted direction, avoiding the presence of two particularly beefy Bulkheads that roamed the further halls.

Unfortunately, though that turn was successful, the outcome of such a choice was not. They managed to get a few feet in before being forced to stop. The next connecting door had been sealed shut, and when Tokken tried to open it, even employing his every bit of strength, it wouldn’t budge. The kids began to fret as shadows collected opposite them; Crawlers abounded.

Chloe, Holly and Mumble stepped forth then, acting as barriers for the children.

“Tokken, let me know if you figure a way out of this mess,” Chloe asked, not taking her eyes off the creeping beasts.

“I don’t now, but…” Tokken also stepped beside them. He looked behind himself, smiled at the girl who had to be held back by the others to not also get involved in the fight and reached for his belt. “I have an idea of what might work.”

Chloe panicked some. “Are you going to rely on that? Tokken, it’ll poison you!”

“Yeah, well, Heph did say that’d happen if I use it too often. I’d say I’m on a good streak for now.”

Mumble grumbled something under his tongue, swinging his dagger on its cord and slinging it towards one of the heavier beasts, slicing its front and making it whine and snarl. “Quit the hero shit and get to it, Tokken.”

“Sure thing, Pride.”

The little smile the Urchin tried to hide was such a satisfaction to see. If only Chloe saw it. Turning to face them, Tokken emboldened his every nerve, took a deep breath and stared back at the monsters. They moved slowly, picking their opening, and that didn’t feel right. The knife opened and gleamed, much as it had for the past hour, but in doing so, the Crawlers slowed to a practical standstill. Just earlier he had seen them literally throw themselves into danger for a chance at success or even just wounding their victims. Now it’s as if they were being cautious all of a sudden. Holly sprung into the fray first, followed shortly by the knife-slinging criminal, the two acting as speedy sweepers to move in and out of combat in turns. The Lypin’s nature and impressive martial arts assured some semblance of distance; whipping her ears if any came too close. Mumble, on the other hand, had mastered a form of distant knifing techniques implementing the steel cord. What’s more, thanks to an abstract gift from the Goddess—a spellbind—he made use of the fact that he could practically swim through air itself, allowing him to dodge and bounce out of harm’s way even whilst falling after a jump.

Tokken stayed behind by Chloe’s side, watching the battle carefully for any signs of weakness. He noticed the Howler pant a bit, even as she stayed immobile, and so he pat her back reassuringly. With how much she’d grown, she was almost as tall as he was.

“Chloe, are you tired?” Tokken said.

“Yes. But I can’t revert now. If one of those things takes a shot…” she said, shaking her head of exhaustion.

“I have no idea how you’re doing this, but I guess it’s best I ask later.”

“So confident of our survival. I prefer this Tokken to the crying shame you were.”

Tokken chuckled a bit, standing before her and extending his arms protectively. “Harsh, but I get it. I won’t lie and say he’s gone. But I’ll try at least. For us.”

There, he noticed it. One of the smaller Crawlers had slipped through a gap the Urchin and Lypin made and ran toward the lot. At first, Tokken assumed it was reaching for the children, but he soon realised it was coming to him.

Before Chloe could get between them, Tokken dropped himself low and bolted forth; the dagger facing forward. In an upwards swoop, the knife was brought from the floor to the ceiling, and with it, the beast’s neck was pierced and its body was raised with a cry. Tokken was surprised at how light it was, being able to push back at the monster’s force just enough to topple it and send it on its back. The teen exhaled a relieved sigh, wiped his brow, and turned to face Chloe with a smile and a raised thumb.

The Howler blinked a few times, shocked at the outcome, but smiled back and nodded. Then, a sudden metallic screech was heard as the door that kept them out was opened. The kids that were tugging at its handle cheered, believing they to be the culprits until a soldier in full gear popped his head through and gunned down the last of the hallway’s threats with his rifle.

Tokken watched the Crawlers be pelleted, reaching an arm out to grab and pull back the Urchin. “Shark Teeth, Ass Kicker! Let’s go!”

The beasts hissed and gargled as they were blown back, and so, Holly and Mumble retreated with Tokken and the rest. The soldier, the last to leave, watched as the mowed down Crimsons performed hideous inner movements to, as the noise made abundantly clear, pop their ‘bones’ and flesh back into a minimally functional state. Once recuperated enough, they galloped toward the door with a loud roar, thudding against the metal as it was slammed shut.

The soldier stood before the group, pressing his back against the distorting frame the monsters fought against and pointed forward ahead of him.

“Run! Follow the green path, you’re nearly there!” the officer said.

“What about you?!” Holly called back, speed-walking with the kids as they began to move.

“My duty is to ensure you find shelter. My coworkers will meet you near the vault. Make haste! Run!”

With some hesitance, Holly turned her back on him and caught up with the rest of them, staying in the rear whilst Mumble spearheaded the lot. It took them less than a minute to reach the bunker’s entrance, dashing past a tunnel of armed guards who kept watch.

As soon as the gates were bypassed, the near entirety of the group fell to their knees to regain their breath. Two of the children finally bawled, their psyche having long caved in but too traumatised to cry while still needing to run. The thought of staying put in a bunker shook the children to their hearts, as memories flooded of their neighbours’ doom for trusting such deceptive safety.

This said, the difference in protection was huge. Whereas Zwaarstrich had carved a spacious abode into a cave and shielded it off with a massive gate, the Syndicate offered an underground mansion with six-inch concrete walls and a three-ton metal door; further encapsulated by a metal mesh fence within with a thick door no gun could hope to shoot the lock off of.

Undoubtedly, those within were safe. Holly put her ears over the crying children, holding them tightly as they vented away their much-too-young stresses. Chloe allowed the impressively brave girl to slide off her back, and though she was also scared, she just hugged the Howler’s side and skipped away to hide her struggling face. Even Mumble was distressed. Though he was used to being in danger, he had never felt so close to the cold hands of Death.

Tokken held his head, feeling the blood that rushed give headache to his brain, and he cast Chloe a glance. She returned it.

“Well, we made it…” she said, more morose than he had expected.

“It looks like it,” he replied, squatting down next to her to pat her.

Mumble grumbled something before swatting the back of the teen’s head. “Don’t go treatin’ her like a dog, Pigeon Shit.”

Tokken blinked and then chuckled, noticing Chloe had giggled in turn. “Well, aren’t you such a white knight?” he said, standing up to rival him, albeit with no true seriousness. He’d never stand a chance if they fought.

The Urchin lord growled like a wolf, bearing those inhuman teeth of his, before turning away. “I ain’t nobody’s fuckin’ knight. Just bein’ decent, ‘s all. Now then. Kiddos. Say yar damn sorries!” Mumble barked at the few children that remained, further stirring their fears.

As Tokken chastised his curtness, one of the snotty boys pointed a finger at him and said, “Whatever, Shark Teeth!”

“What’d ya fuckin’ call me?!”

Even Chloe’s laughter burst past her cheeks.

Once enough time had passed for the children to calm down, thereby allowing Holly to stand of her own accord, the gang ventured deeper into the vault, tailing the bravest girl as she stayed ahead of the lot, despite their protests. Once they reached the core, they noticed the flood of people that had gathered here; all convened in a crowd as they were instructed by an officer regarding the procedures during these times. Holly immediately noticed someone from the rear of the mass of human and Cryptid folk, and when she got to him she almost squeezed his lungs out and ribs in.

“Daddy!” Holly called in a squee, crushing her Lypin father’s feeble body under her trained grasp. Allowing him to breathe by plopping him back down after a bit, she allowed him time to recuperate and tap down his medical gown.

“My sweet Bon, what are you doing here at this time?!” William said in a heaved cheer, smiling wider than he had in a month. “Now’s not the best time for a visit!”

Holly put her hands on her hips. “I can see that, Dad! It’s not like I was dragged here against my will!” she complained, but still, she smiled again. “It’s nice to see you, though. Are you still on the coffee?”

“Likewise. The coffee? Ah, well, ahem… I’m working on that one. There’s progress, I tell you!” he insisted, drowning out the voice of the podium by squeezing his right ear against his frame. “Have you been visiting your mother? And who brought you? Was it…?”

“Of course I have. More than you, I bet!” Holly scolded, drooping her biological father’s ears. She too deflated at her thoughts. “Yeah… We had a rocky ride, but I’m here with all limbs intact.”

“I would hope so,” William sighed.

“So, you’re her father?” Tokken asked, butting into the conversation abruptly enough to scare the male rabbit’s soul away. “You raised a mighty fierce daughter, sir.”

“I’ll say, though, I can’t claim that merit for myself.”

“What do you mean?”

The two Lypins exchanged looks. Holly sighed. “It’s a little hard to explain, but…”

“Emris raised her,” William shared with a reluctant nod.

Emris. The Guardian. The Guardian. The Guardian. The one he was supposed to… The one he was so close to…

“IamyourlambIamyourlambIamyourlambIamyourlambIamyourlambIamyourlambIamyour——”

The force of her heel struck Tokken’s head hard enough to send him to sleep.

♦ ♥ ♣ ♠

His head was numb from the soreness of the hit against his jaw, but he was stronger than that. An entity sent by the heavens would never be disturbed by such simple injuries. He was better than that. He could show for it.

Corvus was a hawk, through and through. Anyone who said otherwise be damned. Through the rubble, he climbed and trodded, tripping stones as the blocked light uncovered enough to gleam at his Celestial body once he reached the marred window sill. With his grip on the tip of the blood-covered spear, he impaled the neck of a coming Crawler, hoisting it high to watch it twitch until death robbed its soul of fire. Its darkened life dribbled like oil down his arm, staining it and turning it a hideous black. After a while of contemplation, he threw the body aside and stared out into the forest, feeling the wind cool his skin.

There, in the green, he pointed exactly where Sagittar had disappeared into. “Lord of Conquest,” he said, “where in the world do you think you’re going?”

Vengeance seeping into his soul, his wings grew furiously, and his body was forced into the air moments before being mauled. From up here, he could see the battlefield unfold, watching an inefficient, unguided formation falter considerably to the Galloping’s hordes of quadruped beasts. His eyes moved away from the soldiers as they cried out in anguish. He disregarded the Guardian’s plight. Instead, his desire for justice roared, and his senses noticed a disturbance under a closeby canopy. With no hesitation, he dived down to it, parting the foliage with his presence and smashing into the earth.

It was then that he saw it. There, by the shade of a tree, Sagittar rested like an old man after a long day’s walk; his bloodied chest exposed to the air and touched by the calming palm of a woman; covered from head to toe in knightly, wine-red armour, the two still-bright appendages protruding from her back. It was another like he. A wing-blessed hawk. She turned to face him, the strange metals in her suit clinking together as she did.

“Corvus,” she said.